"I want to apologize," Rodman said in the statement. "I take full responsibility for my actions. It had been a very stressful day."

"Some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. My dreams of basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart. I had been drinking. It's not an excuse but by the time the interview happened I was upset. I was overwhelmed. It's not an excuse, it's just the truth."

He also apologized to Kenneth Bae, the American who was recently sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, and to CNN host Chris Cuomo.

"I want to first apologize to Kenneth Bae's family," Rodman said. "I want to apologize to my teammates and my management team. I also want to apologize to Chris Cuomo. I embarrassed a lot of people. I'm very sorry. At this point I should know better than to make political statements. I'm truly sorry."

Yesterday, Rodman sang "Happy Birthday" to Kim Jong Un—whom Rodman has called his "best friend"—in front of 14,000 North Koreans gathered to watch an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang. Rodman's American teammates wisely left the singing to him.